Shrove Tuesday Shrove Tuesday is a moveable feast that usually falls in February. It marks the beginning of Lent, which is traditionally a time of fasting and repentance. In many countries Shrove Tuesday is the occasion for wild revelry: Carnival in Brazil and Mardi Gras ("Fat Tuesday") in New Orleans. In England it is celebrated more soberly by the eating of pancakes.

Palm Sunday The Sunday before Easter, commemorating Christ’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem, when, according to the Gospels, he was greeted by a crowd waving palm branches. In Catholic churches it is the custom to give out small pieces of palm on this occasion. Palm Sunday marks the beginning of Holy Week, which ends with Easter.

Maundy Thursday (sometimes called "Holy Thursday") The Thursday of Holy Week. A feast commemorating the Last Supper and Christ’s institution of the sacrament of the Eucharist.

Good Friday The Friday of Holy Week, commemorating Christ’s redemptory death upon the cross. Good Friday is thus a day of great solemnity. The hours between noon and 3 p.m., the time when Christ traditionally hung upon the cross, are usually the hours when services are held.

Easter Sunday Celebrated at the first full moon after the vernal equinox, which can fall anytime between March 21 and April 25. (In fact methods for calculating this feast have varied throughout the centuries and have even been a source of dissension among different branches of the faith.) Easter is the climax of the Christian liturgical year. Although most of the traditional Christian holidays are not celebrated by most Protestant denominations, Easter, like Christmas, is celebrated by all Christians. Because it memorializes the day of Christ’s Resurrection, it is an occasion of special joy. Easter marks an end to the fasting of Lent. Lamb, symbolizing Christ’s role as the Lamb of God, is a traditional dish in many countries, as are eggs, brightly painted and colored. The familiar Easter Bunny is probably an old spring fertility symbol that has been assimilated into Christian folk observance.

Ascension Celebrated on the Thursday that is the fortieth day after Easter, this feast commemorates Christ’s Ascension into heaven after his Resurrection.

Pentecost Celebrated fifty days after Easter, Pentecost commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles after Christ’s Ascension. Because it was traditionally favored as a day for baptizing new converts, who wore white, it is also called Whitsunday.

The Assumption Celebrated on August 15 by the Catholic Church to commemorate the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin body and soul into heaven. In Eastern Orthodoxy this is called the Dormition of the Virgin. Protestants reject this doctrine and do not celebrate this holiday.

All Saints’ Day Celebrated on November 1 as a commemoration of all the Christian saints in heaven whose feasts are not celebrated on other days. Halloween literally means "the Eve of All Hallows," that is, the night before All Saints’ Day.

Christmas Celebrated on December 25 in the Western churches as the day of the birth of Christ. As such it is a season of great joy. Although Christmas was not celebrated in the early centuries of Christian history (partly because the actual date of Christ’s birth is unknown), it has since risen to become one of the major events in the Christian year; certainly no other holiday in the U.S. is as widely celebrated. Gift-giving, Christmas cards, and gathering with family members are common customs. The Christmas tree is a German tradition that was imported into the English-speaking world in the nineteenth century, as is Santa Claus. The Christmas crèche, or crib of the Christ Child, is said to have been the invention of St. Francis of Assisi in 1224.